Back-to-school in Albany: new cafeteria, speed cameras

ALBANY, N.Y. (NEWS10) -- The City School District of Albany welcomed back students in first through ninth grade Friday.

The ninth graders came back earlier than the rest of the high school so they could get acclimated to the building with a full-day orientation.

"There'll be a pep rally in the morning, an opportunity for them to meet their school counselors and their principals and a whole bunch of really important people," said Superintendent Joseph Hochreiter, "but most importantly, that when they show up on Monday with 2,000 other students, they feel comfortable."

Those students will also be welcomed with a newly-redesigned cafeteria. See it for yourself in the video player below:

Another new addition this school year is found outside the campus buildings: speed cameras. The city was authorized by the state to install them in school zones.

"One of the biggest complaints that we get around the city is speeding cars," said Albany Mayor Kathy Sheehan.

The first speed camera went live on Friday, the first day of school, outside of the high school. More will be rolled out later.

"The speed cameras, for the first 30 days, will have a grace period, so if you do speed, you'll get a notification that you were speeding, and you will also be notified that if it happens again, you'll be issued a ticket," Sheehan explained.

According to the mayor, it is a $50 fine per ticket.